Arsenal playing "miles above Sunderland", says the PBP commentator on the Sunderland webcast. This is something which I think we all more or less expected. If the Black Cats can maintain damage control to anything less than a five-goal hiding at this point, it could be a moral victory. Cheers, William
RealPlayer is cutting in and out on me-- but that link is working good for me now... *knock on wood, or formica, whichever the case may be* Cheers, William
Is it me or are the announcers saying Reyna is having a crap game? Having a hard time understanding Sunderland's announcers.
Having watched the match, I can say that Reyna played absolutely crap. His passes were often off the mark and when he did actually find someone, he seemed just to want to get rid of the ball -- sending it to people in poor positions or surrounded by defenders. He didn't even challenge in the midfield. Sunderland have no leaders out there. Nobody wants it anymore. Sad to say, but they should be in D1 next season. That all being said, Arsenal are miles better than anyone else I've seen play this season. They play beautifully. The passing and movement make it a joy to watch them -- even if their slaughtering the team you're supporting.
I too watched the game and it was silly. Arsenal and Sunderland shouldn't be in the same league. Sunderland couldn't even possess the ball until Arsenal started coasting and becoming lax with a 3-0 lead. Reyna had 5 or 6 nice plays in the game, but failed to put an impression on the run of play. He did send Flo through on a nice ball and he made an excellent chip to the feet of Arca on the left side resulting in a solid cross. The announcer said it was Reyna but I couldn't really tell that got behind the Arsenal defense with a quick turn in the box but Seaman was quick off his line to snuff it out. Sunderland are abysmal though. Either Arsenal needs to find a new league or Sunderland need to go down. Reyna definitely seemed scared to have the ball, but I'm not sure there was often anything for him to do with it. If you had told me the game was 11 vs 9 I would have believed you. Oh...an idea of dominance. First Half Arsenal 7 shots on goal Sunderland 0. Full time Arsenal 15 corners Sunderland 0.
Unfortunately Sunderland appear to be going through the same learning process about Reyna that our US National Team has been going through the last 10 years. Namely, if you expect to plug Claudio in as your do-it-all #10 central midfield player he won't quite live up to it. He is a very strong midfield player, but he is at his best when he is playing second fiddle to a more attack minded #10, or is playing an in tandem relationship ala Reyna/Armas or Reyna/O'Brien. I think it's mentality more than skill. Again, he is a great asset in the midfield, but Sunderland is running everything through him, and watching him play I get the same impression that I get when seeing him with the Nats, namely that he niether feels eager nor comfortable in the centerpiece role.
Yeah, the pre-game had Sunderland in a 4-4-1-1, with CR in the hole. I knew right then Arsenal would be up at least 2-0 in the first 20 minutes, so I went back to the Panthers game.
One other thing, there are a number of people in MLS that could play for Sunderland and probably improve the team. This may not sound like a revelation to some of you, but I think we have a habit of selling short some of the talent in MLS and overstating the level of play in some of the big Euro leagues. Watching Stern John this season I have to wonder if Carlos Ruiz or Taylor Twellman couldn't light it up for a number of teams in the EPL. Granted that Kevin Phillips is injured, but it would be fun to see the results of plugging in some select MLS players in various spots on Sunderland.
Would this be the Stern John who until last Saturday hadn't scored a single Premiership goal from open play? Maybe the goals against West Ham will turn things around for him, but up until then he's looked anything but a Premiership-level forward.
It wasn't any different from any other Arsenal game I've seen in the last nine months. Their midfield has become so overwhelmingly dominant that teams a lot better than Sunderland are being steamrollered by them. If they can stay away from Real Madrid, they must be a good bet for the Champions League final this year.
Sorenson out for 2-3 months with elbow boo-boo. http://www.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=113250&Title=Sorensen+elbow+injury+confirmed
Yes, that would be him, and I have to disagree. In the 3 B-City games I have seen this season Stern looked easily the most skilled striker playing for City, or at least the most dangerous. Considering he is only 1-2 goals away from being their leading scorer I think focusing on goal output at this stage just ignores the fact that overall Birminghan isn't that strong a team. Still, they are one of many squads in the EPL that are less than stellar, and that brings me back to my original point. I think a team like Sunderland with a clear lack of offensive output could benefit from the services of a number of strikers in MLS.
I think this definitely has to be taken with a grain of salt. True, Sunderland are a horrible team but then again they were playing Arsenal and that tends to skew things a bit, just ask Leeds.
Hasn't Reyna been getting pretty good marks for the other games he has played this season? I thought he was even made captain. That doesn't sound like someone who isn't "quite living up to it" to me. I think there are a number of central midfielders who have looked like amateurs against Arse-anal. How I hate how good they are!!!